


Workplace Romance

by sumnawaz



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Romance, Upstead, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26953975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumnawaz/pseuds/sumnawaz
Summary: Jay and Hailey have a little conversation about their (secret) workplace romance.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Kudos: 46





	Workplace Romance

She met Jay in the middle of the locker room, right as he was about to head out, and she stopped him short with a subtle furrow between her eyebrows. “Hey—are you heading out?”

Jay’s eyebrows rose, expression one she recognized of him trying to deflect the oncoming conversation. “Uh, yeah,” he breathed out, green eyed gaze glancing down at the duffel bag hanging from his shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Whoa, hold on a second,” Hailey stopped him with a slight confused laugh, hand reaching out to grab his arm. He’d been off for a few days, which Hailey of course picked up on immediately, but she’d hoped that he’d tell her what was on his mind. They’d gotten past the point of their partnership, friendship, what they were now, where the other would have to seek out the one who had something on their mind. It was an unspoken thing between them to go to one another, yet Jay hadn’t done that this time around. When his eyes met hers, she lowered her voice to remind him, “I thought we were both going to your place?”

“Oh, right, right; we’re off the clock so our relationship is back on now.”

Though he spoke flatly, the sting of his words were sharp, and Hailey did her best not to recoil as she frowned up at him. Her gaze flickered past him for a moment, towards the doorway that led into the hallway outside of the locker room, briefly wondering if anyone was around. She remembered Voight was finishing up paperwork in his office, everyone else already gone for the night, and heard Jay scoff just then.

“Jesus—I can’t even mention our relationship without you double checking if anyone heard us.”

Hailey’s eyes sharpened, growing frustrated with Jay’s remarks, immediately understanding that his off-mood as of late had to do with their relationship. Doing her best to ignore the knot of anxiety that formed in her stomach, a seedling of fear growing from Jay potentially regretting starting something up with her, Hailey steeled her expression and said, “Not here. We’ll talk about it at your place and we’ll talk about it _tonight_.”

She noticed the flash of regret in his eyes, clearly realizing his words had hurt her in some way. But Jay said nothing, instead waited by the doorway as Hailey went to her locker to gather up her things. The silence in the locker room was tense, weighing them down, though neither of them startled at the sharp echo of Hailey slamming her locker shut. Jay kept his face blank, pushing himself off the wall as Hailey walked his way, following him out of the locker room and towards the stairs to exit the precinct.

The silence between them remained, and it took all of Hailey’s willpower not to fidget in her seat as Jay drove them to his apartment. Hailey had always been a straightforward person; if there was ever an issue she had with someone, no matter her relationship with them, she was vocal about it so they could figure it out. That had always been the case with Jay, long before they got romantically involved. It’s what made them so fluid with one another, always working in sync no matter the job. It was one of the things she loved about Jay, about them, and she would be damned if she let his stubbornness—or hers, since she sometimes was no better—try to crack at the foundation they had built together.

So she stayed quiet in the car, knowing the tension would explode if they started the much needed conversation right then and there, and waited until they got back to his place. When they did, Jay didn’t seem too keen on jumping into the conversation right away, instead dropping his duffel by the couch and asking her, “I’m gonna order pizza—the usual okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Hailey responded absently, eyeing his back as she dropped her bag down, too. She waited patiently as Jay placed their order, shrugging off her jacket. She didn’t quite feel like sitting down just yet, so once Jay hung up, she cut right to it. “What’s going on, Jay? I thought we both agreed we wouldn’t tell anyone about us. Not yet, anyway.”

Instead of answering her, Jay faced Hailey as he also took off his jacket, chin lifted as he asked, “What happened to your no work place romance rule, Hailey? You’ve broken that more than once now—what’s up with that?” She blinked at him in bewilderment, eyebrows drawn together as she looked up at him. “You just keep your relationships a secret so if they end up not working out, you’re saving face because you never told anyone in the first place?”

Was he attacking her? Hailey had no idea what was going on, no clue as to where the frustration in Jay’s voice was coming from. “Jay, what the hell?” she demanded, a humorless laugh escaping her. Her skin was beginning to heat up in annoyance—and hurt—as she stared at her boyfriend. “I just don’t like people knowing my business—you know that.”

“And that’s fine, Hailey, but you didn’t seem to have a problem when people found out about your relationship with Adam,” Jay retorted, lips curling slightly as he gave a shrug.

Hailey gaped at him, blinking at his accusation in disbelief. Adam? Why the hell were they talking about her relationship with Adam? Calmly, Hailey said, “That was different.”

Jay scoffed, clearly not believing her. “How?”

She shot him a glare, hotly responding, “Because I knew Adam and I were never going to work out!” Hailey clenched her jaw after her outburst, Jay’s frown weighing her down as she let out a breath before sitting down on the couch. Resting her elbows on her knees, Hailey bowed her head, fingers burying in her blonde hair as she sighed once more. The couch shifted next to her and she knew Jay had sat down as well, and Hailey swallowed inaudibly before lifting her head.

His gaze was softer than before, traces of annoyance disappearing as his tone took an encouraging tone as he asked, “What do you mean?”

Hailey licked her lips, sitting up, arms still resting on her knees as she linked her hands together. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, gathering her thoughts to best say what was on her mind. “I told you back then—I didn’t see my relationship with Adam coming. It wasn’t supposed to be a _thing_ , you know? The only reason we ended up together in the first place…” She trailed off, looking at him, taking in the sight of his green eyes and freckles and open expression that let her know she could tell him anything. So she confessed, “Was because of you.”

Jay blinked, clearly not having expected that. They didn’t talk about their past relationships much, because both were trying their best not to let those influence what they had. But it would be a lie to see that their pasts didn’t define who they were today, and though they were trying, it was difficult not to let insecurities and grievances of the past bleed into what they had with each other. “Because of me?” Jay repeated, not entirely understanding what she meant.

And why would he? Hailey never told him how her and Adam had gotten together. So she told him, confessing how after the case that involved his dad’s death, when she saw him laying on the concrete with a bullet in his vest, there had been several agonizing minutes where she hadn’t known if he was going to make it out alive. And when the adrenaline wore off after finding out he was okay, she was so overwhelmed with emotion and Adam had been there, took her out for drinks. So she drank to erase the image of Jay on the ground, drank to erase the fear and panic of potentially losing him, and somehow that resulted in waking up next to Adam the following morning.

“I obviously care about Adam,” Hailey continued, gaze on her hands as she absently picked at her nails. “But we were never gonna work. We just… Didn’t line up.” Her blue eyes then met Jay’s blue, a gentle smile lifting at one corner of her lips as she finished, “Not the way you and I do.” Jay returned the smile, understanding what Hailey was saying, and she let out a sigh. “Our relationship—it’s still new, you know? And I don’t want everyone finding out already because as soon as they do, that’s when all the comments start.” With a tilt of her head, she inquired knowingly, “You’re gonna tell me when people found out about you and Lindsay, no one made comments about you two being partners while being together?”

Jay pursed his lips, a muscle in his jaw feathering as he, no doubt, recalled a conversation or two about the topic. “No, you’re right,” he relented with a breath.

“Keeping us a secret isn’t because I expect what we have to fall apart, Jay,” Hailey reassured, turning to face him as their knees brushed. “I just don’t want anyone questioning how we do our jobs because we’re together,” Hailey shrugged. With a wry grin, she added, “We work with some of the best detectives in Chicago—it’s not gonna take them that long to figure us out. But until then, I just—” She reached out, linking their hands together, warmth spreading through her when Jay squeezed her hands. “I want us to be just between us.”

“I know,” Jay agreed, a soft smile upturning his lips as well. She watched the way his larger hands covered hers easily, reveled in the heat of his skin touching hers. Lifting his gaze to meet hers, Jay added dryly, “Guess neither of us have had the best luck in dating someone we work with.”

She scoffed, nodding along in agreement. “Yeah, but—this is different, isn’t it?” Her voice quietened, a flutter in her chest. “It feels different. In a good way.”

He looked at her for a moment, green eyes boring into blue. Instead of replying, Jay leaned in, and Hailey was utterly compliant as she met him halfway, closing the gap between them as her lips met his. And in that kiss, Jay told her everything she needed to hear.

Because what they had—it _was_ different. Years of partnership and friendship had provided them with a solid foundation to help them approach the next level, giving into feelings they’d been harboring for longer than either of them could recall. Both Jay and Hailey could admit that there had always been something between them, and over the years they spent building trust, respect, and loyalty between one another only helped to push them into realizing just how deep all of that ran.

They were only a month into their relationship, but they had years of friendship before that, and it was that solid, unbreakable bond that would help them navigate this new chapter they had started for themselves.

Hailey couldn’t help the smile that curled her lips as her thoughts fluttered around her head, grinning against Jay’s mouth as he kissed her, pulling away from her only to finish her previous thought—“In a _really_ good way.”


End file.
